Tonight, we celebrate the ‘giving of Torah’ with the holiday of Shavuot!
Theologically, this evening is considered a ‘thin’ place in time, where the barriers between the Divine and the earthly realm are most porous.
Our Kabbalists believed that we could most easily connect to God through active study of Jewish religious texts on Shavuot.
Study, in Judaism, is considered spiritually on par with prayer, and on Shavuot the tradition (from the Zohar) is to joyously engage with one another all through the night.
I love this.
For me, Shavuot is interesting and fun.
Year after year, when we study together on Shavuot, the evening creates a profound connection to our wisdom tradition and the Jewish people around the world.
So…At 6:00pm, local Reform rabbis and congregants from around Atlanta will gather at Temple Emanu-El for a light (dairy) repast, the chanting of the ten commandments, and then everyone will pick one of five topics to study, each with a different rabbi or cantor.
Won’t you come join us, connecting to Jews the world over, and learn!
Hag Sameach Shavuot!
Rabbi Spike
